Sunday, August 21, 2022

China has encroached on Canada’s critical minerals industry, with almost no obstruction from Ottawa

Aug 13, 2022 | Canada

The Globe and Mail

The Tanco Bernic Lake mine in January 2021.

Tanco is now the only operating lithium mine in Canada.

George Penner/Handout

LONG READ

Three years ago, Sinomine Resource Group Co., a Chinese company, quietly bought the Tanco mine in Manitoba. At the time, Tanco was one of the world’s few sources of the critical mineral cesium, a key input in atomic clocks and radiation detectors. The mine had previously produced lithium, a battery metal used in electric cars.

Even though Tanco was owned by an American chemicals company, Cabot Corp., Canada’s federal government had the authority to block the acquisition on national security grounds. But far from blocking the deal, Ottawa appears not to have given it a second glance.

Earlier this year, under its new Chinese ownership, the Tanco mine started producing lithium and shipping it back to China, where it is fed into the country’s massive domestic electric car industry. Tanco is now the only operating lithium mine in Canada, and Sinomine has plans to expand production over the next few years.

“It’s known for having the world’s highest grade lithium. The grade is so high that nobody had the technology to process it,” said mining investor and activist shareholder Peter Clausi. “And the morons let it go.”

Mining is one of the most capital-intensive industries on the planet, and so historically it made sense for Canadian miners to turn to China as a source of funding. But in recent years China has emerged as a clear national security threat.

Although Ottawa has made clear that it does not want to be beholden to a hostile foreign power for critical minerals such as lithium, so far there has been little in the way of action from the federal government to prevent that from happening.

Parliamentary hearing witnesses call for more scrutiny over China in Canadian critical

minerals after state-owned Zijin Mining buys Canada’s Neo Lithium

Mr. Clausi is one of several mining industry observers who have watched in horror as China has encroached on the Canadian critical minerals industry over the past 15 years with almost no obstruction.

“Where was the review?” said Bruce Downing, who co-invented a method of extracting cesium.

Lauren Quist, who works in the natural resources industry and is a long-time resident of the small Ontario forestry town of Hearst, is also aghast. “Many folks I talk to here in Northern Ontario are aware of our vulnerability to Chinese businesses buying up properties, and especially mines,” she said.

Ms. Quist noted that Sinomine had secured an offtake agreement earlier this year, guaranteeing it all the lithium, cesium and tantalum produced from Power Metals Corp.’s Case Lake critical minerals property, near Kirkland Lake, Ont. “It is the next thing to ownership, without all the messy headlines,” she said.

Xinwangda Electric Vehicle Battery Co. Ltd makes lithium batteries for electric cars and other uses, in Nanjing, China. China is among the world’s biggest miners of lithium, with control of about two-thirds of the refining process globally.STR/AFP/Getty Images

Messy headlines have been plentiful this year, after the federal government approved the sale of Canadian lithium development company Neo Lithium Corp. to Chinese state-owned Zijin Mining Group Ltd. The government’s decision not to order an advanced security screening drew severe criticism, culminating in parliamentary hearings that put the Industry Minister, François-Philippe Champagne, on the defensive.

In those hearings, Mr. Champagne justified the deal by saying Canada was unlikely to benefit from lithium produced from Neo’s project, because it was located far away, in Argentina. But at the moment, experts say, Canada can’t afford to turn its nose up at any lithium projects, because this country is a bit player in the industry.

China, meanwhile, is among the world’s biggest miners of the silvery white, superlight metal, with control of about two-thirds of the refining process globally.

Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said the takeover of a Canadian lithium mining company by a Chinese state-owned company earlier this year was subjected to a thorough national security review – contrary to what some experts and Conservative politicians have asserted.

PATRICK DOYLE/The Canadian Press

Chinese lithium manufacturer Ganfeng Lithium Co. Ltd. is the biggest shareholder in Canada’s largest publicly traded lithium miner, Lithium Americas Corp., and has a major stake in its Cauchari-Olaroz lithium project in Argentina.

Canada has similar also-ran status when it comes to cobalt. This country produces only small amounts of the vital battery metal input, while China controls about 70 per cent of the market. China is even more dominant in graphite, with an 80-per-cent lock on the market. And while Canada is a major miner of nickel, another battery metal, it has no refineries that can process it for the battery industry.

“How can Canada build a lithium supply chain, or any other critical mineral for that matter, when it allows the assets of Canadian companies to be acquired by a country that seeks to cement its dominance in this sector?” Jeffrey Kucharski, an adjunct professor at Royal Roads University and former assistant deputy minister of Alberta’s Department of Energy, said during the parliamentary hearings earlier this year.

Chinese bots spread disinformation about Canadian rare earths company in targeted attack, report alleges

But it’s not only the critical minerals sector where China is firmly ensconced. Many of Canada’s biggest gold and base metals mining companies – including Barrick Gold Corp., Teck Resources Ltd., First Quantum Minerals Ltd. and Ivanhoe Mines Corp. – have significant Chinese ownership, joint ventures with Chinese companies, and, in most cases, Chinese representation on their boards of directors.

“The creeping of Chinese interests into the Canadian scene is a big deal,” said Bob van Leeuwen, president of van Leeuwen Engineering Ltd., who has assisted with university research into 3-D printing with titanium. “What China is trying to do is ensure the supply of everything it needs all over the world.”

After decades of laissez faire, Ottawa seems to have woken up to the possibility that Chinese encroachment in Canada’s mining sector could give Beijing a powerful negotiating lever.

“Everybody’s looking at what’s happened to Germany in the context of its dependence for oil and gas on Russia,” Jonathan Wilkinson, the federal Natural Resources Minister, said in a June interview. “Nobody wants to be in that position with respect to China and Russia for critical minerals.”

Ottawa, he said, “will need to be very thoughtful going forward about what we are willing to allow.” He said both acquisitions and offtake agreements will be given greater scrutiny.

“Canada needs to ensure that it is protecting itself in an area that is clearly strategic,” he said.

Visitors attend the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada show on Mar. 2, 2020.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail

But the evidence suggests that, up until a short time ago, critical minerals weren’t on politicians’ radar. Only in the past 18 months has Canada started moving with any kind of urgency. The government came up with an official critical minerals list last year, and this year committed billions of dollars in funding to jump-start the industry.

“The real problem is that until very recently nobody cared about critical minerals,” said Jack Lifton, a United States-based consultant to the critical minerals and rare-earth metals industry. “They were exotica and there weren’t any shortages.”

Canada now finds itself in a fragile spot, experts say, because of a lack of foresight, inadequate planning and questionable judgment in allowing foreign investment in domestic assets.

In contrast, China’s entry into the Canadian critical minerals sector came about through a carefully planned strategy, executed over decades. Since the early 2000s, China has directed its state-owned enterprises to invest abroad as a way of securing long-term supplies of oil, natural gas and critical minerals. A key aim of its “Made in China 2025″ policy is to wean itself off reliance on other countries by buying as many foreign assets as possible.

In the past 20 years, China has invested about $90-billion in Canada alone as part of that program. Beijing supports its state-owned enterprises by providing subsidies, access to cheap capital and tax breaks that are orders of magnitude greater than those offered by Western governments.

That disparity in government support is a major reason Canada has lost its footing in critical minerals industries it used to lead. In the 1990s, Canada had a thriving magnesium industry anchored by Noranda Inc. The company was known as an innovator, particularly in the automotive sector. But in the early 2000s China flooded the global market with cheap magnesium, forcing Noranda out of the industry.

Guy Saint-Jacques, Canada’s former ambassador to China, says there is no level playing field for foreign companies in China.

JASON FRANSON/The Canadian Press

As Canada builds its battery metals industry, can it compete with the world’s behemoths?

While Canada has mostly welcomed inbound Chinese investment, there has been little or no reciprocity.

“There’s no level playing field for foreign companies in China, and many sectors remain closed to them, or access is similarly limited,” Guy Saint-Jacques, Canada’s former ambassador to China, said in a Canadian parliamentary hearing earlier this year. “China does not play by international trade rules.”

China has routinely used its dominant position in critical minerals to exert leverage over other countries. In 2010, it temporarily halted rare-earth metals exports to Japan as the two Asian countries sparred over disputed territories. The ensuing metals supply shortfall caused short-term price spikes. The year after the 2018 arrest of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou at Vancouver airport, Canada lost $4.5-billion in exports to China.

While Canadian politicians claim to want to scrutinize foreign takeovers, over the past five years fewer than 1 per cent have been subject to in-depth security reviews under section 25.3 of the National Security Act, and almost none were blocked. Last year, out of 826 foreign investment filings, Canada conducted only 11 section 25.3 reviews. The government blocked only one of those transactions: Chinese state-owned Shandong Gold Mining Co. Ltd.’s attempted takeover of Canadian gold mining company TMAC Resources Inc.

Wesley Wark, a senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation, said far more transactions need to be subject to in-depth security reviews, and that every foreign state-owned enterprise, or SOE, attempting to acquire Canadian critical mineral assets should automatically be subject to them. “Especially if it is a SOE from a country regarded as adversarial to Canada’s national security interests.”

Canada could look for guidance to Australia, another resource-rich country whose significant deposits of critical minerals have attracted interest from China. It has taken a far tougher stand than Canada on proposed Chinese investments.

A conveyor belt carries chunks of Raw cobalt after a first transformation at a plant in Lubumbashi before being exported, mainly to China, to be refined.

SAMIR TOUNSI/AFP/Getty Images

Over the past few years, the Australian government has rejected several transactions on national security grounds, including a proposed US$20-million investment in Australian rare earths company Northern Minerals Ltd. The prospective buyer was Baogang Group Investment, a Chinese state-owned steel company.

Australia also rejected a $14.1-million investment by Chinese lithium chemical producer Yibin Tianyi Lithium. The company was attempting to buy a stake in AVZ Minerals, which has a project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Australians mandated that YTL reduce its investment to $10.7-million.

Last year, Australia toughened its oversight even more, introducing a new “last resort” power, under which the government has the authority to review previously approved transactions where national security risks emerge after the fact. The government can now roll back the clock and impose new requirements on deals that have already been approved.

Canada also has to think about controls on minerals that may not be as in vogue as battery metals, but that are still vitally important to the economy, mining experts say. For example, helium – which is used in rocket propulsion, meteorology and cryogenics – is an element Canada produces but does not keep a tight leash on.

“We have miners out west that are currently continuing to drill holes to tap into helium resources, and it’s immediately being snapped up by buyers outside of the country. We need to control that,” Mr. van Leeuwen said.

Sand containing titanium is shown at the Professional Developers Association of Canada convention and trade show in March 2020. The titanium is found on beaches and don’t require heavy mining to recover it.

Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail

Titanium, a lightweight but extremely strong metal used in passenger planes and fighter jets, is another example. Canada is a major miner of titanium, but doesn’t keep track of where the strategic military material ends up. It’s a very different story in the U.S., where the State Department obsessively tracks the metal’s movement.

Mr. van Leeuwen recalled working at a machining shop in Kitchener, Ont., that made titanium landing gear for a U.S. fighter jet. The metal came in from the U.S. as a 500 pound forging. The final machined product weighed about 75 pounds, and the rest of the titanium was turned into chips.

“The fact that titanium is considered a strategic material by the U.S. meant that the customer demanded they account for every single pound of chips, as well as the finished part, and ship everything back to them, chips and the final part,” Mr. Van Leeuwen said. “We don’t do that kind of thing here.”

The truth about Canada’s relationship with China – one that few executives will voice publicly – is that Canada needs China. When the balance sheets of Canada’s mining companies go awry, when billions of dollars are needed to build a high-risk project or when a heavy is needed to negotiate with a despotic government abroad, China is the investor of last resort.

In 2009, Chinese state-owned China Investment Corp. bailed out Teck Resources Ltd. to the tune of $1.74-billion when the coal miner’s debt was spiralling of control. A few years later, when Barrick Gold Corp. needed to sell billions of dollars worth of assets to pay down its titanic debt, the big Canadian gold miner turned to Shandong Gold and Zijin Mining Group. When Canadian mining financier Robert Friedland needed to raise billions to build a copper mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo, an extremely risky mining jurisdiction, he tapped Zijin, as well as China’s CITIC Metal Co., Ltd.

In 2009, China Investment Corp. bailed out Teck Resources Ltd. to the tune of $1.74-billion when the coal miner’s debt was spiralling of control.

CHRIS HELGREN/Reuters

“He couldn’t get it financed in the West,” said Alex Tsukernik, chief executive of Nova Royalty Corp. “The Chinese will end up controlling it. That’s the issue.”

Similarly, when the Tanco mine was for sale a few years ago, nobody wanted it. It took Sinomine to buy it, take on the risk and invest in it. Were it not for China, chances are the 110 employees that work there, 90 per cent of whom are Canadians, would be out of work. Frank Wang, general manager and president of Sinomine, is well aware that in the current political climate there is little or no chance the Canadian government would have allowed the takeover to happen.

“Probably we wouldn’t own Tanco, honestly, if the transaction was happening currently,” he said.

Owing to mining’s inherent riskiness, its extremely high capital expenditure requirements and the decade-plus timelines between mineral discoveries and mine production, nobody is sure whether the Canadian mining industry can thrive without China. Few investors from other parts of the world have the same deep pockets and patience.

The downside of more protectionist action against China is that it would likely put some Canadian mining companies in a bind – particularly those that already have Chinese owners.

This dynamic is already playing out. Lithium Americas needs a partner for its Thacker Pass lithium project in the U.S. But its CEO, Jonathan Evans, said in an interview earlier this year that turning to the company’s existing Chinese investors is not an option. He said there is no way the U.S. would allow it, given the political climate.

The days of Canadian miners cozying up to China may be over. That will leave them with a gigantic capital hole to fill, and few other obvious takers. In a world where mineral deposits are found in increasingly remote regions that demand gargantuan capital expenditure, and without access to the Chinese cash register, Canadian companies may be forced to scale back their ambitions.

The Globe And Mail

Canada is eying a purchase Beijing made several years ago. It involves special strategic importance and national security, as Canada looks to better protect its own resources.

Aug 20, 2022

Protesters demand Utah require clergy to report sex abuse

By SAM METZ

August 20, 2022

1 of 3

Protesters gather on the steps of the Utah State Capitol, at a rally to gain support for removing the clergy exemption from mandatory reporting in cases of abuse and neglect, on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022 in Salt Lake City. Demonstrators gathered outside the Utah Capitol on Friday to demand lawmakers remove an exemption from state law that frees religious leaders from being required to report sexual abuse when perpetrators mention it in confessions.

(Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP)

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Survivors and faith leaders rallied Friday at the Utah State Capitol to demand change to a state law that exempts religious leaders from requirements that they report child sexual abuse brought to their attention in spiritual confessions.

“If we as a people, as churches and as a state are failing to protect our children, then we are failing,” Lindsey Lundholm, the rally’s organizer, told an audience of more than 100 in Salt Lake City that included survivors of abuse applauding while tears streamed down their faces.

Lundholm spoke of her firsthand experience of abuse growing up in Idaho as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As a young girl and member of the faith widely known as the Mormon church, she said she told a local bishop about her abuse and instead of reporting it to law enforcement, the bishop guided her abuser to seek forgiveness from God.

Lundholm’s story was one of many shared on the steps of the Capitol, which stands on a hill above the church headquarters and its Salt Lake Temple. Other women also shared their stories and read aloud written accounts collected for the demonstration, using them to demand lawmakers require clergy report abuse when it’s confessed to them.

The rally comes two weeks after an Associated Press investigation found the church’s abuse reporting system can be misused by church leaders to divert abuse accusations away from law enforcement and instead to church attorneys who may bury the problem, leaving victims in harm’s way.

The AP story, based on sealed records and court cases filed in Arizona and West Virginia, uncovered a host of concerns that victims have raised about the helpline. Those include how church officials have cited exemptions to mandatory reporting laws, so-called clergy-penitent privilege, as an excuse for not reporting abuse brought to their attention of children as young as 5 years old.

Since its publication, the church has criticized the story as flawed. In a statement this week, its representatives said the help line “has everything to do with protecting children and has nothing to do with cover-up,” but did not dispute any of the story’s facts.

Utah is among more than 20 states with similar laws that give reporting exceptions to clergy who receive information about child neglect or sexual abuse during spiritual confessions. The exemptions do not extend to therapists, doctors or any other adult known to offer confidential counsel.

In Arizona, church attorneys are attempting to use clergy-penitent privilege to limit what its officials have to answer questions about in a lawsuit that accuses them of conspiring to cover-up child sex abuse. A judge ruled this week that church officials had to answer questions.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and lawmakers from different faith backgrounds and both sides of the aisle have recently come out in support of changing the state law exempting clergy from mandatory reporting. But such a law could face an uphill battle in Utah, where the church commands sizeable cultural and political influence, counts an estimated two-thirds of residents as members and relies on volunteers to serve as clergy members.

Rep. Angela Romero, a Democrat whose efforts to end the exemption stalled in 2020, said Friday that she remained committed to changing the law.

“I’m tired of making excuses for perpetrators,” she said, noting that her push had recently won support from Latter-day Saint Republicans.

In addition to Romero and survivors, Friday’s rally also included a rabbi and former Latter-day Saints bishop. Stuart Smith, the bishop, said clergy could benefit from clear abuse reporting guidelines.

“Such a requirement, codified in state law, may have the additional benefit of allowing the helpline for bishops now operated by the LDS church to better perform its stated purpose — which is to provide expertise and resources to help the victims of abuse,” he said.

WikiLeaks’ Assange would not be behind bars if he disclosed “dirty secrets” of other countries than US: China

August 19, 2022

Beijing [China], August 19 (ANI): China on Friday said that if WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange had disclosed the “dirty secrets” of a country other than the US, Assange would not have been put him behind bars and he might have received honor from the CIA.

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin made these remarks in response to reports that lawyers for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, along with two journalists, have recently sued the Central Investigation Agency for unlawfully obtaining information from their electronic devices and recordings of their conversations with Julian Assange, violating their privacy.

“We can all imagine, had Assange disclosed the dirty secrets of not the US, perhaps he would not have been put behind bars and might even receive a medal or some kind of rewards and immense honor from the CIA,” Wenbin said during a media presser.

“What has happened to Assange and his lawyers has again made one thing clear: in the US, the sanctity of human rights and press freedom comes with strings attached. The exercise of such rights and freedom must not come into conflict with the interests of the US. For if it does, they will surely come under high-handed restriction and ruthless suppression,” he added.

At a time of the Taliban’s one-year rule in Afghanistan, Wenbin slammed US saying that it has failed in Afghanistan, but still hasn’t changed its habit of meddling in other countries’ internal affairs in the name of democracy and human rights, and stoking division and confrontation around the world.

“The “Kabul moment” put on full display the US’s hypocrisy on democracy and human rights and its true colors of relying on power politics and bullying practices,” he said.
The Chinese spokesperson added that the US’ two-decade invasion of Afghanistan has reduced the country to rubble, ruined the future of an entire generation of Afghans, killed 174,000 people including more than 30,000 civilians, and displaced tens of millions.

“Even though the US troops have left, Afghanistan is yet to emerge from the long shadow of the invasion. Millions of Afghans are struggling on the verge of death. About three million Afghan children are too poor to go to school. And 18.9 million people face acute food shortage. The US must take responsibility for all of this,” he continued saying.

Meanwhile, in response to China’s sanctions on Lithuania’s Deputy Transport and Communications Minister, Lithuania’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it issued a formal protest to China, calling for the restrictions to be rescinded.

Commenting on this Wang Wenbin stated that senior Lithuanian officials made a provocative visit to China’s Taiwan region. “This clearly violates Lithuania’s political commitment to upholding the one-China principle, the common understanding of the international community and basic norms in international relations.”

“China has made a necessary response to Lithuania’s erroneous acts, which is totally legitimate, reasonable and lawful. We urge the Lithuanian side to tell right from wrong, immediately redress its mistakes and stop chipping away the political foundation of China-Lithuania relations.”

(ANI)

Rep. Adam Kinzinger suggests social media companies need to take responsibility for violent, 'insurrection-type' speech

Lloyd Lee
Aug 19, 2022,

Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois speaks as the House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol holds a hearing at the Capitol in Washington D.C. on July 21, 2022.

Scott Applewhite/AP

Rep. Adam Kinzinger condemned violent speech online as threats spike following the Mar-a-Lago raid.

Kinzinger suggested that social media companies need to do more to stop the promotion of violence.

The House Oversight Committee sent letters to social media companies on Friday about online threats.

Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger on Friday suggested social media companies should be more proactive against violent threats made online.

The Illinois congressman, who is one of two Republicans on the House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riot, said during an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper that the country needs to "come to a conclusion on what social media is and isn't responsible for."

"I'm all for the First Amendment," he said. "What I'm not for is insurrection-type, violent-type speech being promoted, passed on in these mediums that can lead to a really destabilized situation."

His comments came hours after lawmakers of the House Oversight Committee sent letters to the executives of eight social media companies, demanding that they take action against the "spike in online threats against law enforcement officers" that have been made since the FBI searched Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home on August 8.

A letter was sent to the executives of Meta, Facebook's parent company, Twitter, TikTok, Truth Social, Rumble, Gettr, Telegram, and Gab.

"We are concerned that reckless statements by the former President and Republican Members of Congress have unleashed a flood of violent threats on social media that have already led to at least one death and pose a danger to law enforcement officers across the United States," Rep. Carolyn Maloney and Rep. Stephen Lynch, the chairs of the Oversight Committee, wrote. "We urge you to take immediate action to address any threats of violence against law enforcement that appear on your company's platforms."

An armed man was shot dead by police last week after an hours-long stand-off at an FBI office in Cincinnati, Ohio, two days after the Mar-a-Lago raid. Authorities said the suspect tried to breach the FBI office.

Kinzinger also took a swipe at older social media users who show off their weapons and claim they're "going after the government" or the FBI.

"It's all over TikTok," he said. "It's always amazing to me to see these 50, 60-year-old men on TikTok."

"But those are the kinds of things we have to discuss — like that can't be allowed anymore in this country," he continued.

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF TROLLING

Rabeea Saleem

Published August 21, 2022

When 21-year-old Hamza* posted a music video of himself, he put his life, quite literally, on the line.

Shy and reserved by nature, the aspiring young musician wished to share his passion with the world. So he took to the internet to post a video displaying his musical talent from the comfort of his room, without having to socialise in real life.

“I had always thought music was my true calling,” says the 21-year-old. “However, I did not have the confidence to play live in front of an audience, since that would trigger my social anxiety. A friend suggested that I post my music online instead.”

Still, sharing his secret passion was like exposing a part of his innermost self. “I had to muster a lot of courage to post my video online,” he admits.

Why do trolls find pleasure in harassing and cyberbullying strangers online and what factors perpetuate this damaging behaviour?

And the world was not kind to him in return.

While his video garnered some positive feedback, mostly it was panned by random strangers. Reading the negative comments that inundated his feed pushed Hamza into a dark place. “It plunged me into depression,” he says. So much so that it led him to attempt suicide.

He realises now that the opinions of people hiding behind spam accounts should not have bothered him but, at that moment, they chipped away at his already fragile self-esteem. “When you are being bullied in your real life, at least you can take a stand against one person,” he explains. “On the internet, however, I did not know how to fight these nameless, faceless people.”

According to various surveys across the world, there has been a rise in cases of people suffering from mental health issues after being trolled or harassed online. In internet parlance, trolling is a type of online bullying and is defined as aggressive and malicious online behavior. “Trolls” seek to deliberately provoke, bully and harm others via inflammatory messages and posts.

Although both trolls and cyberbullies share aggressive attributes, cyberbullies are not characteristically deceptive or randomly disruptive. On the contrary, research suggests that cyberbullies are often known to their victims in real life and the harassing behavior involved in cyberbullying is very direct and specifically targeted. Trolls, however, usually do not have a vendetta towards any particular person but are more likely to troll people with major followings.

What compels a person to spew hatred towards strangers?

Zehra*, 16, has been diagnosed with depression. “I feel so unhappy all the time and there is nothing I can do to make it better,” she explains. “So if I cannot make myself feel better, the only thing within my control is to make others feel just as miserable as I do. That is why I troll people, by making fake profiles on Instagram. It gives me a sense of satisfaction.”

According to Dr Hadia Pasha, associate director of Counseling Services and Wellness Office at Aga Khan University (AKU), a person may choose to defame, ridicule or libel someone else to express anger, take revenge, gain attention or to derive sadistic pleasure by seeing the impact their actions have on the victim.

“All these situations are intentional, where the perpetrator is either incapable of experiencing empathy or chooses to ignore feelings of concern for the other by convincing themselves that the victim deserves this treatment,” she says.

Research conducted by an Australian cyberpsychology expert, Evita March, helps outline a psychological profile of online trolls. Trolling was strongly associated with what is called the Dark Tetrad personality traits. These comprise of Machiavellianism (callous, manipulative and deceptive traits), psychopathy (amoral and antisocial behaviour), narcissism (a grandiose sense of self-importance and a lack of empathy for others) and sadism (deriving pleasure and gratification from the pain or humiliation of others).

Of the Tetrad traits, psychopathy and sadism have been found to correlate more strongly with internet trolling in past studies, as well as with cyberbullying. Men were more likely than women to troll the internet and scored significantly higher on all the Dark Tetrad traits.

Sohrab*, a 19-year-old boy, was brought to therapy by his parents on account of temper tantrums and behavioural issues. Among other things, one of the reasons he was having behavioural issues at home was that he was not a popular kid at school. He discovered later that he could get the social validation he craved from online strangers when he posted mean comments under photos of celebrities.

“The more vicious my comments, the more engagement they get,” he says, “whether it be in the forms of likes or comments. If I don’t write things like that, no one reads me. I do not troll people because I hate them. It’s just so that my comment does not get lost among all the others. I just want to be noticed.”

This is not surprising since low self-esteem has been found to be directly related to trolling. Research on loneliness and aggression suggests that loneliness represents a state of chronic frustration, caused by social isolation and needs that are not being met. Hence, it can express itself in maladaptive ways, such as aggression towards others.

One important factor that perpetuates online trolling is anonymity, which leads to “online disinhibition effect” — the tendency to experience a dramatic loosening of inhibitions and social restraints on the internet. This means that even people who would never bully someone in real life might indulge in “trolling” others on the internet. This disinhibition effect encourages mob mentality and groupthink.

“The internet provides a convenient shield for a lot of people,” explains Asha Bedar, a senior clinical psychologist, trainer and researcher. In fact, research shows that, for people who lack confidence in real life, the internet is a channel to express their dormant and suppressed emotions.

“So it has provided this platform to people who otherwise may not be that expressive,” says Bedar. “You get attention, an audience and a safe space — since no one can harm you, no one can see you, there is no accountability. This can also be a good thing but, on the flip side, this means that there are very few filters and social etiquettes in place when we express ourselves on the internet.”

Bedar further adds that trolling is being justified since the internet as a public space allows toxic opinions. Offensive, inappropriate expression is becoming normalised to the point where we stop seeing it as problematic, until it becomes dangerous. “The internet has become a dumping ground for a whole lot of emotional issues,” says the psychologist.

Since our virtual lives spill over into our real ones, the impact of internet trolling is also not confined to virtual space. Victims of trolling can experience a variety of psychological, social and emotional issues in their real lives. Online trolling can aggravate self-esteem, body image and anxiety issues, since it confirms a person’s most negative beliefs about themselves.

The inquiry report Safety Net: Cyberbullying’s Impact on Young People’s Mental Health reveals that 60 percent of young people in the UK have witnessed online bullying but most do not intervene. A 2018 Pew Research Center survey revealed that Instagram has been reported as the social media platform where maximum people have experienced internet trolling. 42 percent users of Instagram have experienced harassment on the platform, as indicated by The Annual Bullying Survey 2017, carried out by a youth charity in the UK.

Children and young people under 25 who are victims of cyberbullying are more than twice as likely to self-harm and enact suicidal behaviour. Also, perpetrators themselves are also at higher risk of experiencing suicidal thoughts and behaviours according to a systematic review study led by Professor Ann John at Swansea University Medical School in collaboration with researchers from the universities of Oxford and Birmingham.

One of the least discussed forms of cyberbullying is where certain people are continuously ignored in virtual social groups, so much so that they start feeling insignificant and rejected by their peers.

“This is a form of covert bullying that is similar to ostracisation in real life,” says Dr Pasha from AKU. “While not involving any direct offensive behaviour, it creates deep scars on a person’s sense of self-worth, leading to low self-esteem, feelings of hurt, loneliness and, in many cases, depression.”

According to L1ght, an organisation that monitors online harassment and hate speech, there has been a 70 percent increase in the amount of internet trolling/hate speech among teens and children from December 2019 to late 2020, since the Covid lockdowns began. This can be attributed to pandemic-related factors such as prolonged isolation, pent-up frustration at circumstances beyond our control and the socio-economic repercussions of the pandemic. All of this has led to a general increase in stress levels and mental health deterioration, which gets displaced by vitriol against strangers online in the form of trolling.

Victims of internet trolling and harassment in Pakistan can reach out to various resources. The Cybercrime Wing of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) directly receives complaints and takes legal measures against cyberbullies and harassers. The Digital Rights Foundation also has a toll-free and confidential Cyber Harassment Helpline which provides legal advice, digital security support, psychological counselling and a referral system to victims of online harassment.

*Names have been changed to protect privacy

The writer is a clinical associate psychologist and freelance journalist. She can be reached at rabeea.saleem21@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, EOS, August 21st, 2022

PAKISTAN

IT is unfortunate that the incidence and causes of suicide remain under-researched in Pakistan. That is why a study conducted by researchers at the University of Peshawar on high suicide rates in the Chitral region is a useful contribution. As media reports, human rights activists and isolated surveys have indicated, suicide rates have remained above average in Chitral. Similarly, in Thar, Sindh, suicide rates among young people are higher than in other areas of the province. According to the findings of the above-mentioned study, a total of 176 people in Chitral ended their lives between 2013 and 2019. The research also lends credence to what other observers have pointed out — that more young people and women are taking their own lives than men. Out of those who committed suicide, 144 were between 15 and 30 years old, while 58pc were young women.

However, along with the usual suspects such as poverty and domestic violence, the researchers found an unexpected factor pushing young people to a state of isolation and hopelessness. They discovered that academic failure and high parental expectations were also key factors in driving the youth towards this irrevocable step. It indicates that while goal- and job-oriented education has penetrated the region, social expectations have reached distressing heights. Similarly, because the area’s integration into the national mainstream has not been achieved, the local culture has developed in isolation and now clashes with the goals and aspirations of the youth. Meanwhile, media reports from last year suggest some lowering of the suicide rate among females due to the establishment of women-centric help desks at police stations, but the true impact of this will only surface after a comprehensive government survey. The local administration should ensure that these desks keep functioning so that women can turn to them. The authorities should take valuable lessons from the Chitral study to reorient their social and economic development priorities. True development stems from a change in behaviour, and not merely from an increase in the number of schools, colleges and jobs.

Published in Dawn, August 22nd, 2022

PAKISTAN

Fading optimism

Muhammad Amir Rana

Published August 21, 2022

SECTIONS of the clergy and society have issued an outright condemnation of the dance performance that took place at the Independence Day ceremony as shameful and going against the ideology of Pakistan. They criticised the government for allowing such ‘objectionable acts’ in its annual Aug 14 celebrations.

Needless to say, freedom of expression is the democratic right of all Pakistanis, including clerics. Still, these reactions reflect a bitter dichotomy that state and society have failed to address even after 75 years of being independent. This dichotomy is related to a vague sense of national identity, which overshadows not only politics and social coherence, but also statecraft and the behaviour of state institutions.

The average Pakistani wants to be modern within a religious frame. Neither the clergy nor the state can build such a unique citizenry. As a result, religion has become a tool in powerful hands. Religious elites and civil society have taken different positions, inspired by various forms of religiosity and liberalism respectively. A major challenge confronting both state and society today is how to reconcile the diverging notions of identity in Pakistan’s nationhood discourse.

The use of religion may not be a unique phenomenon in societies where power elites control the system through electoral processes or any form of authoritarianism. However, the excessive use of religion by the power elites in Pakistan has triggered societal decay, which is a major contributor to the chronic crisis the state is suffering. On the one hand, all economic, social and political indicators are in decline; on the other, religious institutions are thriving in the country. The ultimate victim of the crisis is the youth, who are confused and have minimal potential to thrive when compared to their counterparts in neighbouring democracies. Democracy is merely a slogan for political parties, which actually lack democratic processes and exploit whatever flaws they see in the latter

The responsibility for this state of decay lies with all institutions.

Pakistan ranks 123rd on the global Democracy Matrix, just two points better than Afghanistan, and falls in the category of hybrid regimes. According to Freedom House’s latest ranking, Pakistan is 37th from the bottom on its freedom status index; political and civil rights are in a shambles. Pakistan is sliding on the Fragile States Index, according to the Fund for Peace’s latest indicators. All this shows a decline in the economy, politics and social cohesion. Two trends are going up: demographic pressures, and the elite’s unity to protect its collective interests. An ordinary man is paying for the cost of unity of power elites as economic inequality rises and the state loses its legitimacy. One outcome of this situation is capital flight and brain drain.

Read: Democracy and prosperity at 75

Neither the founders nor the supporters of the idea of Pakistan would have thought that in the year of its diamond jubilee, their beloved motherland would have been in the throes of such a crisis. Optimism about the future has become a rare commodity even among sections of the elite, and religion has become a refuge for the ordinary citizen. It is an easy way out for the elites to keep ‘harmonising’ society through religious education and indoctrination. Educational curricula are dogmatic, and the schooling system discourages critical thinking and learning. As a result, even educated youth fail to develop the ability to think clearly and rationally.

According to a study conducted by the Pak Institute for Peace Studies to assess the thinking patterns of the educated youth, a major section of this cohort thinks that democracy is the most suitable system for Pakistan. At the same time, they believe that previous dictatorships in the country were justified.

This is a collective failure, and the responsibility for this state of decay lies with all institutions. Apparently, every institution has ideas on how to bring the country out of its crisis, but the will and capacity to do so are lacking. This month alone, many papers and articles are being published about the factors leading to the state of continuing rot, with intellectuals and experts suggesting solutions for improving the economy and political stability, and advocating a balanced geostrategic approach, and implementing reforms in education and governance. The recommendations are worthy, but the mother of all challenges is: who will take the initiative?

This is not only the era of narratives which influence minds and the policies of states; it is also a time when the clash of narratives creates the ambiance for dialogue. It is not surprising when political parties and civil society suggest a dialogue or a charter to resolve challenges ranging from the economy to politics to extremism. However, the question is: who will be part of that dialogue and who will initiate it? Senator Raza Rabbani has suggested a dialogue within institutions to resolve civil-military imbalances. But why would a strong institution talk to a weaker stakeholder on equal terms? Especially when the political leadership across the board is happy to remain subservient?

Perhaps, the political parties themselves will have to initiate a dialogue among themselves. The Charter of Democracy is a model, and on similar lines, all major political parties can initiate a dialogue to decide on a basic framework of political engagement and strengthen parliament. The political actors should decide to reform their political structures, make them democratic and inclusive, and resolve all their differences. Rather than calling upon the ‘neutrals’ to change their approach, Imran Khan should take this initiative. Mian Nawaz Sharif is himself an architect of the Charter of Democracy. And who knows the cost of democracy better than Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari?

Dialogue among parties is essential but state and society also need a charter to change the national outlook, which should be moderate and acceptable, not for the world but for us. That will make this country a place where the weak feel safe, and the strong do not abuse their power, religion or numerical strength.

The writer is a security analyst.

Published in Dawn, August 21st, 2022

Climate catastrophe

DAWN

Editorial

Published August 22, 2022

AWAY from the media’s limelight, which remains almost completely riveted on the drama playing out in Islamabad, a wave of death and destruction continues to wash over Pakistan. From the heights of the Himalayas to the shores of the Arabian Sea, floods triggered by heavy rainfall continue to wreak havoc, destroying livelihoods and sweeping away entire settlements, leaving death and misery in their wake.

Climate change is no longer an abstract doomsayer’s warning: the climate has changed, and it has caught us completely unprepared. The Pakistan Meteorological Department has said as much in reference to the 385pc higher rainfall in Sindh and 371pc higher rainfall in Balochistan so far this summer.

Editorial: Rain disaster

The unseasonably high rainfall had been preceded by back-to-back heatwaves in the two provinces, which created the conditions necessary for the disaster that later unfolded. There are strong fears that these extreme weather patterns may become the ‘new normal’ for Pakistan.

Every day seems to add to the death toll from this year’s rains, with Balochistan seemingly the worst-affected province.

It is unfortunate, given the scale of destruction that is being faced, that there seems to have been no effort so far to formally map the disaster-struck areas or highlight the geographical zones which continue to face increased risk. If such information has, in fact, been collated by any authority, it must be shared publicly so that the scale and nature of the disaster seen this summer can be studied for the future.

It also seems that disaster response is still being conducted on an ad hoc basis rather than under a strategy to pre-empt loss of life and livelihood. This must change.

Editorial: Post-rain clean-up

The destruction of life and property at the scale seen this year makes for a very expensive lesson for administrators and provincial governments to learn what their development priorities ought to be for the future. Clearly, climate resilience must be the defining feature of any rehabilitation and reconstruction work done from this point on. The infrastructure that has been destroyed and the villages that have been wiped off the face of the earth must be rebuilt, keeping in mind that what has happened this year can and will most likely happen again: if not next year, then the next, or the year after.

Apart from that, a massive effort will also need to be put into educating the citizenry at the community level about how they can adapt to the changing climate. Where to build settlements and plant crops, how to protect lives and livestock, and how to survive during a natural disaster are just some necessary areas where the government can provide support by linking experts to the citizenry.

The changing climate requires a bottom-up approach to adaptation if we want to survive. That should be the primary focus once the reconstruction starts.

Published in Dawn, August 22nd, 2022

Safety concerns loom as writers show public support for Rushdie

AUGUST 19, 2022PUBLISHED AT 9:24 PM

Supporters of author Salman Rushdie attend a reading and rally to show solidarity for free expression at the New York Public Library in New York City, US, on Aug 19, 2022.

Reuters

NEW YORK – Under the watch of counterterrorism officers and police in tactical gear, hundreds of people gathered in front of the New York Public Library on Friday to show support for Salman Rushdie, the author stabbed multiple times at a literary event a week ago.

Irish novelist Colum McCann, British writer Hari Kunzru and others read passages from Rushdie's works from the top of the flagship library branch's steps off Manhattan's Fifth Avenue.

Below, at a distance enforced by organisers, a crowd of about 400 people gathered to listen, breaking out into a chant of "Stand with Salman" when the event concluded.

Some held signs depicting Rushdie and quoting him saying, "If we are not confident of our freedom, then we are not free."

Police say Rushdie was attacked by a 24-year-old New Jersey man who rushed a stage and stabbed the writer in the neck and torso at a literary festival in western New York last week. Rushdie, who was rushed to a hospital, survived.

There were no bag checks or metal detectors to screen for weapons ahead of the appearance by Rushdie, who had been living under a death sentence for 33 years.

A supporter holds up a copy of Shame by author Salman Rushdie while attending a reading and rally to show solidarity for free expression at the New York Public Library in New York City, US, on Aug 19, 2022.
PHOTO: Reuters

The suspect has pleaded not guilty to second-degree attempted murder and assault charges.

"I hope this is a wake-up call that people like Salman, who are fearless, who write things as they see them, who are not afraid to speak the truth as they view it, really are in danger," said Pen America Chief Executive Suzanne Nossel.

The nonprofit free-expression and human rights group helped organise the event.

Attendees spoke of their worries for themselves and other writers following the attack.

A supporter of author Salman Rushdie reads an excerpt from his works during a reading and rally to show solidarity for free expression at the New York Public Library in New York City, US, on Aug 19, 2022.
PHOTO: Reuters

"We're all in danger. And some of us are more overtly in danger than the rest," Iranian-American author Roya Hakakian said in an interview.

While the death sentence, or fatwa, ordered on Rushdie by Iran was among the most high-profile threats, many authors say harassment and calls for violence have become part of the experience of being a writer.

Love Is an Ex-Country author Randa Jarrar said in an email interview this week that she had to learn how to "better aim a gun" and prepare physically in case of attack after a tweet about former first lady Barbara Bush prompted threats.

When Bush died in 2018, Jarrar described her as an "amazing racist" for a comment about the majority-Black communities displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

The Muslim author said she feared for her life when critics posted her home address and phone number online. She and her child began receiving death threats.

Supporters of author Salman Rushdie attend a reading and rally to show solidarity for free expression at the New York Public Library in New York City, US, on Aug 19, 2022.
PHOTO: Reuters

Every threat she received mentioned that she is Muslim and warned her to go back to where she came from, Jarrar said. She moved, and hired a company to scrub her private data from the internet.

Queer Chicana writer Myriam Gurba faced threats after she criticised author Jeanine Cummins in 2020 of cultural appropriation in writing the novel American Dirt, which focused on a Mexican woman who escaped a drug cartel to build a new life in the US as an undocumented immigrant.

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment

Sunday, August 21, 2022

Suicides in Chitral

Safety concerns loom as writers show public support for Rushdie

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